LensTip.com

Lens review

Sony FE 85 mm f/1.8

15 March 2019
Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:

  • solid, sealed mechanical construction,
  • excellent image quality in the frame centre,
  • sensible image quality on the edge of the APS-C sensor,
  • low longitudinal chromatic aberration,
  • moderate lateral chromatic aberration,
  • lack of problems with spherical aberration,
  • negligible distortion,
  • slight coma,
  • sensible control of astigmatism,
  • low vignetting on the APS-C sensor,
  • very nice out-of-focus areas,
  • silent and accurate autofocus.

Cons:

  • image quality near the maximum relative aperture could have been a bit better,
  • significant vignetting on full frame.
Our summary must be positive – this lens has a huge number of advantages and its two flaws, listed above, are easy to forgive. Weaker performance on the very edge of the frame is more often than not imperceptible because, in typical uses of an 85 mm instrument, it will disappear in the background bokeh anyway. High vignetting might bother you from time to time but also it might be perceived as a feature emphasizing that mythical plasticity of image many photographers appreciate, making it pleasing to the eye.

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To sum up we are happy Sony added a good quality instrument to their line-up which is also within financial reach of amateurs and less affluent professionals. I think if you decide to buy it you will enjoy it very much.